Oftentimes a communication system will experience interference that hinders communications between devices. There are generally two types of interference that a communication system may experience: in-system collisions; and random interference from one or multiple out-of-system transmissions. For example, consider a major emergency where many first responders are on scene from various agencies and attempting to communicate simultaneously. Such a scenario may overload a communication system with random interference from multiple transmissions and prevent communications among devices. Another scenario that may prevent communications among devices is when too many devices from a system attempt to simultaneously register with a communication system. For example, when many subscriber units within a communication system attempt to simultaneously register/request service on a wireless system, the simultaneous requests may collide, causing interference.
Oftentimes the best mitigation for interference is dependent upon what is causing the interference. For example, a system experiencing random interference may mitigate interference by “rolling” a control channel (i.e., changing the frequency being used by the control channel). Interference caused by multiple simultaneous registration or call requests (collisions) may be mitigated by detection and regulation of registration/call requests in an adaptive manner.
As is evident, it is beneficial to know what is causing the interference so that an appropriate mitigation technique may be chosen to reduce the interference. Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for detecting interference within a communication system.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.